Building Information Modeling for a Smart and Sustainable Urban Space

2Which Data Sources for the BIM Model?

2.1. Introduction

The three-dimensional modeling of urban spaces is of major importance in many urban applications. Research in this field is in full swing and technological innovations are very notable. Achievements are not limited to the introduction of new techniques for capturing 3D reality, and also tend to change paradigms in many areas developed around geospatial information.

Today, we are witnessing a democratization of access to information, as the techniques available for acquiring 3D data are no longer the prerogative of the expert, but are becoming increasingly accessible to new users, who are initially non-experts. However, the diversity of approaches requires objective choices and a good understanding of the advantages and limitations of each technique.

This chapter focuses on the techniques and approaches for the production of 3D data for a digital model. It proposes a non-exhaustive overview of the most common 3D acquisition techniques and tools with an extended reflection on 3D surveys of urban environments in general, prior to the production of urban models. In this chapter, we also discuss the choice of techniques and methods and the integration of multiple and heterogeneous data sources for the 3D digitization of urban space.

2.2. Multiple sources for the 3D digitization of urban space

Today, we are witnessing a great technological revolution marked by the development of a wide range of 3D acquisition techniques, ...